Mandaue fire victims get help to recover faster
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go sent his team to Mandaue City in Cebu on Saturday, May 20, to provide assistance to the individuals affected by recent fire incidents in Barangays Tabok and Banilad.
Held at the Banilad National High School, the team of Go provided grocery packs, vitamins, snacks, and shirts to 99 families. They also gave away bicycles, shoes, phones, and balls for basketball to select beneficiaries.
“Ang gamit po ay nabibili pero ang buhay po ay hindi. Ang nawalang buhay ay wala na. A lost life is a lost life forever kaya mag-ingat tayo palagi. Magtulungan lang po tayo, mga kababayan ko. Makakaahon din po tayo muli,” said Go.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development also extended financial assistance.
"May financial assistance po galing sa AICS program ng DSWD. Ating palakpakan ang DSWD," he added.
Go emphasized the importance of collaboration between national and local governments to enhance fire prevention efforts in areas that are prone to fires. In this regard, he primarily authored Republic Act No. 11589, which mandates a ten-year modernization program for the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The program includes acquiring modern fire equipment, recruiting more firefighters, developing specialized training to improve their response to fire-related incidents, and conducting monthly fire prevention campaigns and information drives in every local government unit, particularly in informal settlements and economically depressed areas.
“Isa po talaga sa prayoridad ni dating pangulong (Rodrigo) Duterte ang palakasin pa lalo ang ating BFP dahil napakahalaga ng papel na ginagampanan nila upang masigurong ligtas ang ating mga kababayan sa anumang sakuna,” said Go.
Moreover, he offered assistance to those in need of medical care and encouraged them to visit Eversley Childs Sanitarium
Hospital in Mandaue City where a Malasakit Center is ready to assist them with their medical-related expenses.
Other Malasakit Centers in the province are located at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu City Medical Center, and St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital, all in Cebu City; Talisay District Hospital in Talisay City; Lapu-Lapu District Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City; and Cebu Provincial Hospital in Carcar City.
The Malasakit Centers program establishes onestop shops which bring together the DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to provide particularly poor and indigent patients convenient access to medical assistance programs.
Principally authored and sponsored by Go in 2019, Republic Act No. 11463 has institutionalized the program. To date, 157 Malasakit Centers have been successfully established and assisted over seven million Filipinos nationwide, according to the DOH.
The senator likewise highlighted his initiative to establish Super Health Centers in strategic areas nationwide to bring public health services closer to those in need.
“Ilalagay po ito sa mga strategic areas sa buong Pilipinas. Sa tulong ng mga kapwa ko mambabatas, napondohan po ang 307 na Super Health Center sa year 2022 at 322 na Super
Health Center sa year 2023 sa buong Pilipinas,” he shared.
In Cebu, the DOH identified the cities of Bogo, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue; and the towns of Borbon, Cordova, Moalboal, Samboan, and San Francisco as locations for Super Health Centers in 2022. This year, more Super Health Centers will be established in the cities of Carcar, Cebu, Talisay, and Toledo, and in the towns of Carmen, Consolacion, Liloan, Medellin, and San Nicolas. An additional Super Health Center will also be established in Danao City.
Super Health Centers offer database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit. Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) service; oncology centers; physical therapy and rehabilitation center; and telemedicine, where remote diagnosis and treatment of patients will be done.
Meanwhile, Go, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, also extended his support to the rehabilitation and expansion of a multipurpose building in Brgy. Duljo Fatima, Cebu City; the construction of a new multipurpose building in Bahay Silangan, and the acquisition of a mini dump truck for the city.
On the same day, Go's team also provided similar aid to fire victims in Cebu City.